The Winter Bloom
by MissJEDoe
Summary: Something seems different about Martin, but it takes Rose a while to work the truth out. Post-Marshank, pre-Mossflower.
1. Chapter 1

Something was wrong with Martin. Over the last few days he'd become more and more withdrawn, often sitting in silence while the group chatted and laughed. She watched him all the time but he never looked at her. To Rose, he'd become almost rude.

She considered confronting him about it, but there never seemed to be time. There was always someone else there or something that called one of them away from the other. She couldn't find the courage to ask him in front of the others – not wanting to cause embarrassment for her or him.

As it was, she spent a good two weeks wondering what had happened since Marshank to change his mood so drastically.

Finally ready to ask him about it, he spoke first. He walked into Polleekin's house and announced that he was leaving.

Rose was stunned. He'd been crying. She hadn't heard him talk to anyone in days and his voice seemed to run a blade through her chest.

And then his words sank in and she realised what he meant.

"Leaving? Why?" She panicked, voice trembling as she stared at him. He stiffened like he'd heard her, but didn't answer.

This annoyed her. Usually, Laterose was as calm as a summer breeze. It took a lot to upset her and make her angry, but for the first time ever she felt anger at her warrior.

"Will you come to Noonvale with us? We will be leaving to go there today."

Rose watched in horror as he pressed his sword to his paw, clearly repressing some awful emotion. He sat down heavily.

"I can never return to Noonvale."

"What are you talking about?" Rose shouted over him, falling to the floor at his feet. Time stopped as he continued speaking. Why didn't anyone tell him he was being rude? This wasn't like him – not at all.

"I will travel alone. South."

Grumm spoke up and asked where he would go. Rose realised that no one was going to fight for her and she sat back on her heels, shaking as she held back tears.

Rose listened as he promised to remove her and their friends from his history. She listened as he actively avoided mentioning her by name. She listened as he swore to move on from them all.

Tears started to fall down her cheeks. He was determined to leave her, then.

He still wouldn't look at her.

She sobbed loudly and covered her mouth with her paws, embarrassed. Not that it mattered – none of them were even paying her the slightest bit of attention.

And she wondered whether she was invisible.

"Talk to me." She whispered in a grating voice, throat burning with tears. "Why do you ignore me?"

Martin ended his explanation. "… The friends we lost?"

Felldoh?

Martin knew death walked by him. That was the life of a warrior. He expected friends to die around him – was he really so upset over Felldoh? Sure, the squirrel had been a brave and honest creature. But he knew what he was doing when he set out to fight Badrang.

Was Martin so upset about _him_?

The friends all sat down to eat. Rose excused herself, not feeling like eating. Instead, she felt quite sick. The sobs she'd held down had choked her and made her queasy and all she really wanted was to be in the fresh air.

And, she confessed to herself, to be comforted by Martin instead of upset all the time.

She sat on a fallen branch, holding her head in her paws. So, Martin was leaving them.

She let the tears fall, wrapping her arms tight around her chest as she let the pain of being left after all they'd been through take over her slender body. She trembled and heaved with each sob, eventually sliding to the floor where she was more stable.

Time passed and she must have fallen asleep, worn out with grief, because she suddenly heard another creature crying. Ashamed of being found in such a state, she scrambled to her feet and ran for cover behind a bush.

"Oh Rose," Martin whispered to the night air. Like she, he was crying.

Martin crying was not a sight Rose wished to witness. If she watched him fall to pieces, she was sure everything she knew in the world would suddenly deform and lose its meaning.

"Come back to me," He whispered to himself. She blanked and stood up, coming out of her hiding place.

"I'm right here." She croaked, voice still suffering from the crying.

He didn't seem to hear her.

"I'm here, you silly beast." She hissed, stepping forward as far as her legs would allow. He looked awful, hunched over and gasping for breath. His paws clutched at his chest as if something was trying to break free of his body.

"I'm sorry that I can't go home with you." He stopped again for more tears, face pale and gaunt looking.

"But you can. No one's stopping you except yourself!" She shouted. Why was he always so headstrong?

He shook his head and half laughed.

"What would your father say when he found out I let you – let you – " He broke off again and hid his head in his lap, running his paw through his headfur.

"I'm sorry. But I'll never forget you." He laughed again but it seemed wrong, out of context. "I couldn't if I wanted to. I feel like you're right here with me, even now. Even though you're long gone. I feel like if I just walked far enough I'd be able to see you properly and hold you again." His voice faded down to nothing at the end of his sentence as new tears took over. Rose watched and listened, for the second time that night feeling as if someone had removed her legs from beneath her stomach.

"So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to walk south and hopefully I'll find you again." He said determinedly, looking straight ahead. Straight past her.

"I love you, Laterose of Noonvale. Tell my father to look after you until I can join you."

He stood up suddenly, twitching his shoulders as if trying to shake something off. He walked quickly away from her and didn't look back, occasionally raising a paw to wipe at his face.

As Rose watched him leave she understood.

He wasn't being rude.

He wasn't ignoring her.

She _was_ invisible, in a sense.

She wasn't even there.

She was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was entirely different.

Now that Rose knew the truth, she didn't bother trying to talk to anyone any more. Instead, she very quickly came up with a plan and waited to put it into action.

She waited beside Martin the whole time, determined to never leave him. Now that she didn't need to eat or sleep or talk to anyone, there wasn't any reason to not have him within her sight for a moment.

This suited Rose perfectly fine, as she got to admire her warrior without blushing because other beasts had caught her staring.

Martin rose early, being as bad a sleeper as always. Rose was prepared to smile fondly as he blinked sleepily at the morning light but was quickly disappointed: as soon as his eyes opened there was a darkness covering them and his face was grave.

"Oh, please smile." She sighed wistfully. He got up, stretched and quickly slung his sword across his back. Rose watched in admiration as he stood in front of the window, silhouetted against the low sunlight.

He waited patiently for the other to rise, never once moving away from the window. Rose never once looked away from him.

They ate breakfast quietly – well, the living did. Rose sat and watched Martin – before heading outside to say their final goodbyes. It felt strange to watch Grumm leave, having always had him as a friend.

But if she was dead, they were all living without her. She couldn't really stay as his friend except in their hearts.

That would have to be enough.

"We will never forget you, Martin the Warrior. Come on, let's see if we can make this place ring one last time with the old war cry!"

Rose joined in, even knowing they couldn't hear her. For one last time she wanted to feel part of their world.

"Fur and Freedoooooom!"

Their voices mingled together as one strong living thing, flooding Rose with the happiness she'd always felt in their company before Marshank. Before Martin's whole life had changed so drastically and Rose had lost hers.

The living embraced and Rose waited, turning and walking silently beside Martin as they left their friends. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw Grumm's sad wrinkled face staring after them.

"So, Rose." Martin whispered. "Where to?" Thinking the warrior was talking to himself again, Rose looked down at the floor by her feet to hold back tears.

"Rose?"

She looked up, straight into his glistening blue eyes.

He was looking at her.


End file.
